'Dreadful': Mother forged paternity test to trick ex-partner

A woman who forged paternity test results and lied to her ex-partner about him being the father of her child has been spared prison.

Beth Fernley, 26, told Ryan Hampson, 27, in April 2019 she was pregnant and was unsure who the baby's father was, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday. Prosecutor Gareth Roberts told the court she had asked Mr Hampson for £300 towards a DNA test and subsequently sent him screenshots which she claimed were from company EasyDNA and showed there was a 99.9% probability he was the father.

The documents were later confirmed to have been forged. Fernley, of Warrington, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at a hearing last month.

Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary said: "This was a particularly dreadful offence which has had a profound effect on many people including, most particularly, Mr Hampson himself and also members of his extended family. "Whether it began out of some sort of apprehension because you found yourself pregnant with somebody who wasn't your partner or because you were keen to create some sort of perfect family, it is hard for me to understand." The judge said when police became involved, Fernley continued to deny she had lied in a "perpetuation of sinister dishonesty".

Fernley was handed a 13-month sentence, suspended for 18 months. Judge Menary stated: "You could not have complained today if I had sent you immediately to prison." Read more from Sky News:Man pleads guilty to murdering two women in Christmas Day stabbingMan arrested on suspicion of murder after house explosion Mr Roberts said after he was shown the forged DNA results, Mr Hampson bought items for the unborn baby and resumed a relationship with Fernley, who he had dated for four years before they broke up in early 2019.

He was at the baby's birth, named on the birth certificate and bought a house with Fernley in 2020. She later forged another letter which claimed the company had made a mistake and Mr Hampson was not the father, the court heard.

When he contacted the firm, he was told they had no record of the tests. Police were alerted in July 2022 and Fernley was arrested.

Reading a statement to the court, Mr Hampson said he had felt "profound grief, confusion and heartbreak" after learning the child, who he had "formed a strong bond" with, was not his. He said: "My entire world fell apart.

"The emotional pain of people asking me about [the child] is unbearable and it brings waves of grief and sadness back that I can't control." Tom Worsfold, defending, said Fernley had shown insight into the impact of her crime. He said: "She has demonstrated she accepts it was wrong of her, in her own words, to play God." Fernley was also ordered to participate in 10 days of rehabilitation activity and undertake 200 hours of unpaid work.

She was also ordered to pay £300 compensation on top of a statutory surcharge..